Department for Transport

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that diesel car emissions are tested accurately; and that such emissions tests have not been falsified in the UK.

Andrew Jones: All new vehicles are tested in accordance with EU law to ensure that they meet the legislated requirements for emissions. There is no evidence that these emissions tests have been falsified in the UK.The UK has been pressing for action at an EU-level to improve emissions tests and will continue to do so. The current test cycle is recognised as outdated and no longer represents normal driving patterns, and we have been involved in the development of a new laboratory test designed to be more representative of real driving conditions. We anticipate this will be implemented from 2017. In addition, we have been at the forefront of action at a European level to introduce real driving emissions (RDE) testing, which we believe is the best way to ensure tests accurately represent performance out on the road and ensure public confidence.

Motor Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all registered owners of a vehicle in Northern Ireland have been issued with a new V5C document with a 12 digit reference number.

Andrew Jones: No. However, since July 2014, when vehicle registration and licensing services in Northern Ireland were transferred to the DVLA in Swansea, the 12 digit reference number has been added to Vehicle Registration Certificates for Northern Ireland customers as and when they are issued.

Immobilisation of Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of vehicles clamped for non-payment of motor tax in Northern Ireland between (a) 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014 and (b) 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015.

Andrew Jones: The table below shows the number of vehicles that have been clamped or instantly removed for non-payment of vehicle excise duty in Northern Ireland:DateNumber of vehicles clamped or instantly removed1 August 2013 – 31 July 20141,5221 August 2014 – 31 July 20152,502

Immobilisation of Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many owners of vehicles clamped for not having motor tax in Northern Ireland between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015 appealed against that enforcement action; and how many such appeals were successful.

Andrew Jones: Between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015 there were 52 appeals lodged by vehicle keepers in Northern Ireland against enforcement action for the non-payment of vehicle excise duty. Of these 12 were successful.

Motor Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost was of the transfer of the administration of motor vehicle taxation in Northern Ireland from Coleraine to Swansea.

Andrew Jones: The centralisation of registration and licensing services to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was delivered as part of a wider project to provide parity of services for Northern Ireland customers including electronic vehicle licensing. This has delivered £9m of savings so far and a projected saving of £12m per annum. The overall cost of this project was £22.15m. These costs cannot be broken down to separate out a specific cost for the transfer of the centralisation of motor vehicle taxation.

Vehicle Certification Agency

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the proportion of income received by the Vehicle Certification Agency from vehicle manufacturers.

Andrew Jones: The majority of the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) income is generated through charging industry for type approval services, using fees which are set by the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval and Approval Marks) (Fees) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2149) (as amended) on a cost recovery basis, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. VCA provides services to a broad spectrum of organisations in the UK including not only motor manufacturers, but also a large number of independent SMEs operating across the wider business sector, which includes trailer manufacturersandbraking component suppliers. VCA has had a total of 1,155 active customers over the past 12 months, all of which were charged in line with the statutory fees for the work VCA complete to ensure EU legislation is adhered to across the UK.

Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports the DVLA has received of applicants' documents going missing in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: The table below provides the number of complaints received at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from customers about application documents that have been lost or damaged.YearNumber complaints receivedNumber of relevant transactions* handled by the DVLA 201012531,153,825201110530,670,002201212930,510,91320136330,506,20220147129,503,0882015 to date6820,029,717*This is for driver licensing and vehicle registration and licensing transactions, which may include supporting documentation, such as, identity documents.

Railways: Franchises

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the total premium paid to the public purse for each of the rail franchises in England in each of the last five years.

Claire Perry: The Government publish rail subsidy per passenger mile, which includes details of premiums paid, on the GOV.UK website on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-subsidy-per-passenger-mile .However, the attached tables show this information over the last five years.



Table - Rail subsidy per passenger mile
(Excel SpreadSheet, 108.5 KB)

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department first learnt of the installation by Volkswagen of software to distort emissions tests on diesel vehicles; and what steps he took in response to that information.

Andrew Jones: The government first became aware of the installation of software fitted to Volkswagen vehicles to distort emissions tests following the announcement of the US Environmental Protection Agency investigation in the US on 18 September 2015.In response, the Vehicle Certification Agency, the UK regulator, has started investigations to establish whether this affects other manufacturers.As part of this work they will re-run laboratory tests where necessary and compare them against real world driving emissions.The government have called on the EU to conduct a Europe wide investigation into whether there is evidence that cars here have been fitted with illegal defeat devices.

Fishing Vessels: Accidents

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were killed due to fishing boats sinking in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The numbers of fatalities resulting from the sinking of UK-registered fishing vessels in the last five years, as reported to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch are:2010: 12011: 12012: 42013: 32014: 4

Fishing Vessels: Accidents

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fishing boats were lost at sea in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The numbers of UK-registered fishing vessels lost, as reported to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch are:2010: 142011: 242012: 92013: 182014: 12

Railways: EU Countries

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's letter of 11 April 2014 to the Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, when he plans to publish the advice by HS2 Ltd and Network Rail on improving connections to European rail networks referred to in that letter.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The HS2 Plus Report by Sir David Higgins, which was published in March 2014, highlighted a number of issues with HS2-HS1 link proposed in the Phase One hybrid Bill. In response to the HS2 Plus report, the Secretary of State decided to remove the HS1-HS2 link from the Phase One Hybrid Bill as it required too many compromises in terms of impacts on freight, passengers and the community in Camden.The Secretary of State has therefore asked HS2 Ltd to consider how to improve connections to the continent. This connectivity study, which is nearing completion, will explore options to improve connections to the continent. We expect the study to be completed by the end of this year.

Bus Services: Per Capita Costs

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's average spend on Bus Service Operators Grant was per capita in each English region in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Andrew Jones: The information requested is not available in this form. However, details of the annual amounts paid to individual bus operators in England, and the local authority area in which they are based, can be found at the following links for 2014/15, 2013/14 and 2012/13:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2015https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2014https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2013

Shipping: Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidences of non-payment of wages to seafarers working in (a) UK and (b) Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The United Kingdom has ratified and transposed into domestic law the International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) which includes provisions on the payment of wages.For UK registered ships other than those which are subject to the MLC, section 30 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 makes provision for the late payment of wages, and interest is payable on late sums under specified circumstances.Enforcement is carried out by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors (and any surveyors nominated by the MCA to carry out surveys and inspections) on UK registered ships in routine surveys and inspections, and, where applicable, on non-UK registered ships during port State Control inspections.We are not aware of any incidents of non-payment of wages on board any UK registered vessels.

Shipping: Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total in unpaid wages owed to seafarers working in the UK shipping industry in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No estimate has been made of unpaid wages owed to seafarers working on vessels registered in the UK or for shipping companies operating out of the UK in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Railways: Speed Limits

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many temporary speed restrictions were in place on Network Rail infrastructure on (a) 1 April and (b) the most recent date for which figures are available.

Claire Perry: At the start of April 2015, there were 226 Temporary Speed Restrictions (TSR) on Network Rail infrastructure. As of 9th October (end of week 3, Period 7) there were 331 TSRs on the network.

Shipping: Conditions of Employment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will raise with (a) his ministerial colleagues and (b) the International Labour Organisation the extent of non-compliance amongst open registers with the minimum standards for seafarers' rights established in the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) carry out Port State Control inspections on board foreign vessels in UK waters. The Port State Control regime has a requirement of no more favourable treatment to other vessels many of which are registered in these so called “open registers”.

Shipping

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the International Transport Workers Federation's Maritime Labour Convention compliance inspections on international shipping in 2014.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is not aware of the findings of the International Transport Workers Federation's Maritime Labour Convention compliance inspections on international shipping in 2014. However, you may wish to note that the MCA works very closely with The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). When ITF inspectors have concerns on board, they notify the MCA who subsequently carry out a review of the issues and carry out a Port State Control inspection, if deemed necessary. This would either result in deficiencies being raised or the ship being detained until satisfactory corrective actions are initiated in response to the deficiencies raised.

Railways: Electrification

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost is to (a) his Department and (b) Network Rail of unpausing electrification of the Midland Main Line and the North TransPennine route.

Claire Perry: Unpausing electrification of the Midland Mainline and the North TransPennine route has not caused the Department to incur any immediate additional costs.With regard to Network Rail’s costs, Midland Mainline electrification was in the delivery phase at the time of pause and Network Rail are still working to understand the costs associated with the decision to unpause. The North TransPennine route is still in development and costs were not affected by the decision to recommence electrification.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2015 to Question 9602, which external organisations received payments from his Department in connection with developing the policies referred to in that Answer; and what amount was paid to each such organisation.

Claire Perry: EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, was engaged in developing the work referred to in Question 9602, and was paid £230k (excluding VAT) in respect of that work.

Railways: Finance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department were acting on his authority when they instructed Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road on 26 March 2015 on how the further assessment of Control Period 5's cost estimates was to be carried out.

Claire Perry: On 23 March 2015, a senior Department for Transport (DfT) committee commissioned Network Rail, the Office of Rail and Road, and DfT officials to jointly assess the whole enhancements portfolio and provide a more robust estimate of costs. Senior officials from all three organisations met on 26 March 2015 to discuss how we could work together to undertake this piece of work.The Secretary of State did not specifically instruct this work nor was he part of these two meetings.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that automotive manufacturers have not falsified emissions data in the same manner as Volkswagen has done.

Andrew Jones: In the UK, the Vehicle Certification Agency conducts tests on vehicles and components to ensure they meet the minimum standards required by European and UN-ECE legislation.Emissions tests are carried out to determine that the level of pollutants emitted from a vehicle is below the required limits. The test is a laboratory based test under controlled conditions in order to achieve repeatable results.The Department for Transport recognises the current test cycle for emissions is outdated and no longer represents normal driving patterns. Discussions have taken place over recent years to replace this with an updated more relevant laboratory test. The Department anticipates this will be implemented from 2017. In addition, a new real world driving emissions test is being implemented to ensure emissions in normal driving comply with the legal obligation. These new tests will remove the ability of car manufacturers to falsify test results.All new vehicles are tested in accordance with EU law to ensure that they meet the legislated requirements for emissions. There is no evidence that these emissions tests have been falsified in the UK.

Home Office

Ecuadorian Embassy: Police

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the additional cost of policing the Ecuadorian Embassy due to the presence of Mr Julian Assange there in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: This is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Metropolitan Police: Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were accepted onto the Metropolitan Police National Fast Track Programme in the last 12 months; and how many such people did not subsequently pass the vetting procedure and therefore did not take up their places on the programme.

Mike Penning: Holding answer received on 15 October 2015



The College of Policing delivers the fast track and direct entry programmes. According to its data, seven external officers and 25 internal officers started the fast track programme with the Metropolitan Police in September. There were 1,952 applicants for the 2015 external fast track programme, of which 421 were to the Metropolitan Police. The public need to have confidence that police officers have been subject to extensive vetting before they join, and it is for individual forces to make decisions on recruitment.

Religiously Aggravated Offences: Islam

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on ensuring police record instances of Islamophobic hate crime.

Karen Bradley: Hate crime has no place in Britain and this government is determined to make further progress to tackle this crime. We have asked police forces in England and Wales to record anti-Muslim hate crime as a specific category in the recorded crime statistics from April 2016. This will help forces to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account. Addressing the harm that Islamophobia causes is a key part of our new Counter-Extremism Strategy which will be published later this month.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities are receiving Prevent strategy funding; and if she will publish the formula used for allocating such funding.

Mr John Hayes: Prevent priority areas are identified through a process which assesses information from police and other partners. We do not provide a breakdown of specific Prevent priority areas for reasons of national security. Each priority area receives funding for a Prevent coordinator, and is supported by the Home Office to deliver projects which address specific local risks. Following commencement of the Prevent duty on 1 July 2015 we have allocated all non-priority local authorities in England and Wales £10,000 to support implementation of the duty.

Anti-Slavery Day

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2015; what steps she is taking to increase awareness of the growth of modern day slavery; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Increasing awareness of modern slavery is vital. As part of a wider programme of events being run by Non-Governmental Organisations, the Home Secretary attended the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Anti-Slavery Day Media Awards on 15 October, where she presented awards to recognise awareness-raising work by the media and voluntary sector. The Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation on the same day attended an awareness-raising event at a London school.This month we will commence Modern Slavery Act provisions to strengthen protections and support for victims. This includes a presumption about age provision to ensure that potential child victims receive specialist support without delay; updated guidance on identifying and supporting victims; and protections for Overseas Domestic Workers who are identified as victims of modern slavery. Subject to Parliamentary approval of the relevant regulations, we also intend to implement the new transparency in supply chains duty for major businesses to disclose what steps they have taken to ensure that their business and supply chains are slavery-free and to publish guidance to help business comply. On 1 November we will bring into effect a statutory duty for specified public bodies to notify the Home Office of any victims of modern slavery that they encounter, which will help to shine a light on this hidden crime. The Government will also publish its annual report on the scale and nature of modern slavery and the UK’s response to it, and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s first ever strategic plan will be laid before Parliament.

Burglary: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2015 to Question 8380, how many burglaries were reported in each ward in Preston City Council in each of the first six months of 2015.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally. Data is held on burglaries recorded by the police at Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership level, but not at geographic levels below that, such as ward level.

Police: Stun Guns

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the national standards are for the training and guidance of police officers in deploying stinger devices.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled in the UK through the Mandate scheme in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gibraltar: Politics and Government

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the job description for the Governor of Gibraltar includes a requirement that the post-holder be a serving or retired military officer.

Mr David Lidington: In the case of the recent recruitment of the Governor of Gibraltar, the position was open to serving and former senior civil servants and military officers. The successful candidate was then selected on merit.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the development of co-operation with Spain on tackling serious crime in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Mr David Lidington: Responsibility for law enforcement in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters lies with Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar. The UK worked in close consultation with both the Government of Gibraltar and the Government of Spain to reach an agreement on 28 August on stepping up law enforcement cooperation. We have since raised this issue with the Spanish authorities at various levels; I raised the matter most recently with the Spanish Minister for Europe, Fernando Eguidazu, on 12 September.

Nepal: Human Rights

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss the arrest of human rights activist Dr Chandra Kant Raut with the government of Nepal.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are aware of Dr C K Raut’s arrest and are following his case closely. The UK regularly raises human rights with the Government of Nepal and Nepalese political parties. We are aware of concerns raised by some sections of civil society about his treatment. We urge the authorities to observe due process and ensure the right to peaceful freedom of expression in accordance with Nepal's new Constitution.

China: Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the security of sensitive nuclear information of the agreement announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 21 September 2015 on commercial nuclear co-operation with China.

Mr Hugo Swire: Security in the civil nuclear industry is of paramount importance to the Government. The UK has in place, robust security regulations which are enforced by an independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation. These regulations cover sensitive nuclear information as well as holdings of nuclear material and nuclear sites. The Government keeps the regulatory framework for security in the civil nuclear industry under continuous review. The Government welcomes Chinese investment to the UK, including in the nuclear energy sector.

Japan: Capital Punishment

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Japan on the abolition of the death penalty in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire: We remain strongly opposed to the death penalty. Together with EU partners, we will continue to express our opposition to the death penalty. We recently co-funded a report on Japanese attitudes to the death penalty and will use this report to influence Japanese policy makers.

Colombia: Human Rights

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the number of Colombian human rights defenders assassinated in the last six months.

Mr Hugo Swire: Human rights continue to be an integral part of our dialogue and relationship with Colombia. We remain concerned by the number of threats that continue to be made against human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia and I raised the issue of human rights with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londoño, on 29 September 2015 during the UN General Assembly.Although the number of HRDs murdered fell by a third between 2013 and 2014, threats and assassinations continue. Colombian non-governmental organisation Somos Defensores reports 32 murders and 332 threats from January to July of 2015. Our Embassy is supporting a project on collective protection measures for HRDs in rural areas through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund and regularly raises concerns about the violence and intimidation suffered by human rights defenders in Colombia with the Colombian government. In his last meeting before leaving Post, the then British Ambassador met the Colombian Interior Minister on 5 August 2015 and raised a number of human rights cases of concern. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Colombia: Homicide

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the recent assassination of three members of the Zenu indigenous peoples.

Mr Hugo Swire: Our officials in Bogota meet regularly with indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in Bogota, and met the Zenu community of Córdoba in May 2015 in a joint visit with ABColombia. We have raised their demands for protection of their rights with the Colombian government, most recently through meetings with the Ministry of Interior on 5 August and 17 September.

Syria: Sexual Offences

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the level of sexual violence (a) within Syria and (b) in camps for Syrian refugees.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Attorney General

Syria: Military Intervention

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Oral Statement by the Prime Minister on 7 September 2015, Official Report, column 26, on what dates he was consulted on the legal basis for drone strikes in Syria.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the questions from the Hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion on the 12th of October 2015: (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-09-16/10466/)

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether there is a process to allow hon. Members to view (a) limited and (b) other classified (i) Council and (ii) other EU documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: My officials are liaising with the Clerks of both the Commons and Lords European Scrutiny Committees to explore the scope and methods by which this information can be shared while still preserving the confidentiality of sensitive documents.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the US embassy in London on plans by that embassy to open a reading room to allow parliamentarians to read classified documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make representations to his US counterpart to enable such documents to be (a) placed in the Library and (b) made publicly available; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A large number of documents related to these negotiations are available on the European Commission’s website on the page ‘EU negotiating texts in TTIP’. We are working with our counterparts in the European Commission and the US to both declassify as many documents as practicable and to give UK parliamentarians equivalent access to classified documents related to this agreement as that afforded to Members of the European Parliament.

Minimum Wage

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2015 to Question 8779, whether the range of information sources HM Revenue and Customs uses to monitor the reported self-correction by employers participating in the new national minimum wage campaign includes speaking independently to the workforce and other relevant groups such as local trade unions.

Nick Boles: HMRC operate a risk based approach using a range of sources to monitor self-corrections in the national minimum wage campaign, this ‎includes contacting workers to ensure they have received the reported arrears.

Overseas Investment: Sri Lanka

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UKTI is giving to British firms wishing to invest in Sri Lanka.

Anna Soubry: UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) team in the High Commission in Colombo (who cover Sri Lanka and the Maldives) provide advice to and support actual and potential UK investors. This can include advice on market opportunities, local partners and legal and regulatory requirements. They also offer the full range of UKTI services and support to British companies selling or looking for opportunities to sell goods and services in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner regularly supports British companies, including by hosting and speaking at events and lobbying for them. The High Commission team works closely with the independent Council for Business with Britain, a trade grouping that many British investors in Sri Lanka are members of, to encourage and support continuing growth in business relations between the UK and Sri Lanka.The UK is consistently a top ten investor in Sri Lanka, ranking 7th in 2013, the latest year for which official figures are available. These investments range widely, from financial services to education, from traditional industries to cutting edge IT development.

Trade Promotion: South Asia

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many official trade delegations have been to (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Sri Lanka in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: The following is a list of official trade missions that have been organised by UK Trade & Investment over the past three years to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.2013/14 Number of Outward Trade Missions to India = 10Number of Outward Trade Missions Pakistan = 1Number of Outward Trade Missions to Bangladesh = 0Number of Outward Trade Missions to Sri Lanka = 32014/15Number of Outward Trade Missions to India = 9Number of Outward Trade Missions Pakistan = 1Number of Outward Trade Missions to Bangladesh = 1Number of Outward Trade Missions to Sri Lanka = 12015/16 Number of Outward Trade Missions to India = 0 (2 planned)Number of Outward Trade Missions Pakistan = 0Number of Outward Trade Missions to Bangladesh = 0 (1 planned)Number of Outward Trade Missions to Sri Lanka = 0 (1 planned)

Exports: Licensing

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that criterion 8 of the consolidated EU Licensing Criteria document is consistently applied to all export licences.

Anna Soubry: The Department for International Development (DFID) is responsible for assessing licence applications against Criterion 8. DFID considers export licence applications destined to all International Development Association eligible countries and may also ask to see applications in respect of other countries of concern. Further information on DFID’s role is given in the Government’s Strategic Export Controls Annual Report for 2014, which was presented to Parliament on 16 July 2015 and is also available on the gov.uk website.

Gender: Discrimination

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to his Department's Research Paper No. 235, on pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantages, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the economy of women forced out of work on account of their pregnancy or maternity leave.

Nick Boles: The paper referred to provides interim research results on potential pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, in collaboration with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is undertaking further analysis, to be published later this year, which may include some financial information, where estimates are possible.

Trade Unions

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the contribution of trades unions to the national economy.

Nick Boles: Trade unions have a constructive role to play in maintaining positive industrial relations. The British Social Attitudes Survey and the Workplace Employment Relations Survey provide information on how the population, employers and union members view the services and activities of Trade Unions. The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of the approximate Gross Added Value for Trade Union activities as well as the number of disputes (and days lost to industrial action).

Small Businesses: Living Wage

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government will take to provide support to small organisations which are not able to pay their staff the national living wage.

Nick Boles: The National Living Wage is part of this Government’s aim to move from a low-wage, high-tax and high-benefits economy to a high-wage, low-tax and low-benefits economy; it ensures that work pays, and reduces reliance on the State topping up wages through the benefits system. As part of this, the Government is cutting taxes and employer NICs in total by over £3bn a year through the Employment Allowance and Corporation Tax.The Government believes that the new National Living Wage is affordable given the strength of the UK economy and labour market.

Living Wage

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of how many people will benefit directly from the implementation of the national living wage.

Nick Boles: The Office for Budget Responsibility estimate that the National Living Wage will benefit 2.7 million low wage workers by 2020 - http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf

Employment Tribunals Service: Pregnancy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate the Government has made of the average cost to a claimant, including tribunal fees, time spent on case, travel and communication, and advice and representation, of pursuing an employment tribunal claim for pregnancy-related detriment or dismissal.

Nick Boles: The Government does not have a breakdown of average costs to a claimant of taking an employment tribunal claim for pregnancy-related detriment or dismissal.

Further Education: Nottingham

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made on the merger of further education colleges in Nottingham; and what options are under consideration for broadening and improving the governance of that new institution.

Nick Boles: Following a city-wide review of further education provision in Nottingham by the Further Education Commissioner, the Boards of Governors of New College Nottingham and Central College Nottingham have agreed to pursue a merger of their colleges to take effect from September 2016.Colleges are independent corporations and responsible for their own decision making, including the governance arrangements that will apply to the merged entity.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget is for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in 2015-16.

Nick Boles: The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate for 2015-16 is £0.5m.

Cars: Northern Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Volkswagen and Renault on the recall of cars in Northern Ireland aged one to five years for refitting new computer and brake systems; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: My Rt hon Friends the Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and Transport have jointly engaged in an exchange of correspondence with Paul Willis, Head of Volkswagen (VW) UK on VW’s plans for addressing consumer concerns over the fitting of defeat devices fitted to VW branded vehicles in the UK (including Northern Ireland). Both Ministers have urged VW UK to complete the refit/redress process as quickly as possible.

Employment Tribunals Service: Enforcement

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a scheme for naming and shaming employers who fail to pay an employment tribunal award.

Nick Boles: The Government believes that naming schemes can be a useful tool for encouraging compliance with legislation. For example, a naming scheme for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage has been in place since October 2013 and has named 285 employers to date.The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 introduced a new financial penalty for non-payment of employment tribunal awards to encourage the full and prompt payment of awards. The Government is considering what other levers could be used to support the effectiveness of this measure, including the potential of a naming scheme.

EU Budget

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the UK was allocated from the (a) European Regional Development Fund, (b) European Social Funds, (c) European Agricultural Fund of Guarantee, (d) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, (e) European Territorial Cooperation, (f) Youth Employment Initiative and (g) European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the period from 2010 to 2014.

Anna Soubry: The information requested for points a, b, d, e, f, and g is set out in the financing plans in the respective programmes for these funds which can be found on gov.uk, gov.scotland and gov.wales.The information requested for point c can be found on the European Commission and Eur-lex websites.

Import Duties

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to UK businesses in the (a) retail, (b) automobile, (c) construction, (d) ICT, (e) financial services and (f) defence sectors of reduced tariff barriers arising from UK membership of the World Trade Organisation.

Anna Soubry: The Government has not made a specific assessment of the benefits to UK businesses in these sectors as a result of the UK’s membership of the WTO. But the benefits will be substantial as over the 20 years of the WTO average applied tariffs have been cut in half from 15 per cent in 1995 to less than 8 per cent today. And there are now 161 WTO Members comprising 98% of world trade, with the new (post-1995) members contributing 21% of this total. Further benefits are likely from negotiations currently underway: for example the Information Technology Agreement 2 (ITA2) should liberalise tariffs that affect around £12 billion of UK exports and imports.

EU External Trade

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefit to the UK economy of the preferential trade agreements the EU has negotiated with countries outside the EU.

Anna Soubry: The cumulative impact of all concluded, on-going and potential trade negotiations currently being undertaken by the EU could boost UK GDP by over £ 20 billion in the long run.

EU Internal Trade

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of (a) the absence of tariff barriers for intra-EU trade and (b)  other aspects of the single market.

Anna Soubry: The EU provides the biggest single market in the world. EU countries trade twice as much with each other as they would without it. The absence of tariffs contributes to this. The single market also brings benefits for consumers. For example, between 2000 and 2006, the cost of making a 10-minute call in the EU fell by an average of 74%, and roaming charges will be abolished completely in 2017. As part of our agenda for EU reform, we want to go further and faster on economic competitiveness including liberalisation of the services sector, trade, and de-regulation.

Leader of the House

English Votes for English Laws

Patrick Grady: To ask the Leader of the House, what discussions he has had with Ministers or officials of HM Treasury on the effect of Government proposals for English votes for English laws on the future of the block grant for Scotland.

Chris Grayling: On Thursday 15 October 2015 I published the Government's updated proposals for English votes for English laws. I had many discussions before publishing these updated proposals, including with Ministerial Colleagues and officials, and I have also listened to the Procedure Committee. The House will have the opportunity to debate the issue on Thursday 22 October 2015.

Department for Education

Careers and Enterprise Company

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the progress made by the Careers and Enterprise Company on (a) increasing employer output into schools and colleges and (b) managing its network of enterprise advisers to assist schools and colleges in choosing good careers and enterprise partner organisations.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Careers & Enterprise Company, which was set up to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people, was incorporated in February 2015. It has since been working with employers, schools and colleges, careers, enterprise and employer engagement providers and others to devise its strategy for transforming the way in which schools and colleges, in partnership with employers, help to prepare young people for adult life. The Careers & Enterprise Company has made good progress with its set up and its delivery plans but it is too early to be able to assess impact.In September 2015 The Careers & Enterprise Company launched its Enterprise Adviser Network. Through this network Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) will co-ordinate employer volunteers to work with secondary schools and colleges to support the development of whole school careers and enterprise strategies, assist schools and colleges in choosing good careers and enterprise organisations to partner with, and increase the number and effectiveness of employer-school interactions. LEPs started work from September 2015.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to each pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Gloucestershire (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Average per pupil revenue funding figures for Gloucestershire, Essex, Hampshire and East Sussex are given below. With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown below. These are in cash terms:Average revenue per pupil funding (cash £)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Gloucestershire3,6103,8404,1104,3504,5204,7304,6604,660Essex3,7603,9804,2404,4404,6204,8604,8204,820Hampshire3,6303,8404,0904,3004,4904,7204,6504,650East Sussex3,8604,0704,3704,5604,7404,9804,9104,910These are in real terms using September 2015 GDP deflators in 2014-15 prices:Average revenue per pupil funding (real £)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Gloucestershire4,4304,5804,7604,9104,9805,0604,9204,830Essex4,6104,7404,9205,0205,1005,2005,0804,990Hampshire4,4504,5704,7504,8504,9505,0504,9004,810East Sussex4,7404,8505,0705,1505,2305,3405,1805,090Per pupil figures are using DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The tables below show the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for each LA.DSG schools block per pupil funding (cash £)2013-20142014-20152015-2016Gloucestershire4,2034,2034,358Essex4,3934,3934,386Hampshire4,2774,2774,269East Sussex4,4504,4504,442DSG schools block per pupil funding (real £[1] )2013-20142014-20152015-2016Gloucestershire4,2634,2034,315Essex4,4564,3934,343Hampshire4,3384,2774,227East Sussex4,5144,4504,398[1] Real terms figures shown in 2014-15 prices using GDP deflators at 30.09.15.Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium per pupil (£)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-2016Free School Meal Pupil Primary£488£623£953£1323£1320Free School Meal Pupil Secondary£488£623£900£935£935Service Children£200£250£300£300£300Looked After Children£488£623£900£1900[2]£1900[2][2] Also includes children adopted from care.Total Pupil Premium allocations for each local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Gloucestershire4.5758.90413.93118.71719.533Essex11.30623.64837.36149.43450.417Hampshire9.51819.67930.96040.67140.350East Sussex4.6769.01114.09218.75918.685These figures in real terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Gloucestershire4.8259.22214.13018.71719.340Essex11.92424.49237.89649.43449.918Hampshire10.03820.38131.40340.67139.950East Sussex4.9329.33314.29418.75918.500Price Base: Real terms at 2014-15 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30.09.2015.The table below shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.Capital allocations  £mGloucestershireEssexHampshireEast Sussex2005-0634.672.467.323.52006-0741.856.864.919.82007-0854.667.175.635.32008-0968.791.770.242.72009-1058.5147.490.246.72010-1168.1104.863.232.32011-1233.979.169.532.12012-1343.594.367.738.22013-1432.783.762.535.42014-1535.785.470.234.72015-16 (prov.)13.350.837.219.4Notes:Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.Funding in 2015-16 is still subject to project progress and is therefore subject to change. The funding figures provided for 2015/16 only include formulaic programmes and payments to date. Further funding is yet to be released for capital programmes dependent upon project progress and this has not been reflected in the figures.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to each pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Essex (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to each pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Hampshire (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to each pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in East Sussex (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Average per pupil revenue funding figures for Gloucestershire, Essex, Hampshire and East Sussex are given below. With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown below. These are in cash terms:Average revenue per pupil funding (cash £)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Gloucestershire3,6103,8404,1104,3504,5204,7304,6604,660Essex3,7603,9804,2404,4404,6204,8604,8204,820Hampshire3,6303,8404,0904,3004,4904,7204,6504,650East Sussex3,8604,0704,3704,5604,7404,9804,9104,910These are in real terms using September 2015 GDP deflators in 2014-15 prices:Average revenue per pupil funding (real £)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Gloucestershire4,4304,5804,7604,9104,9805,0604,9204,830Essex4,6104,7404,9205,0205,1005,2005,0804,990Hampshire4,4504,5704,7504,8504,9505,0504,9004,810East Sussex4,7404,8505,0705,1505,2305,3405,1805,090Per pupil figures are using DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The tables below show the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for each LA.DSG schools block per pupil funding (cash £)2013-20142014-20152015-2016Gloucestershire4,2034,2034,358Essex4,3934,3934,386Hampshire4,2774,2774,269East Sussex4,4504,4504,442DSG schools block per pupil funding (real £[1] )2013-20142014-20152015-2016Gloucestershire4,2634,2034,315Essex4,4564,3934,343Hampshire4,3384,2774,227East Sussex4,5144,4504,398[1] Real terms figures shown in 2014-15 prices using GDP deflators at 30.09.15.Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium per pupil (£)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-2016Free School Meal Pupil Primary£488£623£953£1323£1320Free School Meal Pupil Secondary£488£623£900£935£935Service Children£200£250£300£300£300Looked After Children£488£623£900£1900[2]£1900[2][2] Also includes children adopted from care.Total Pupil Premium allocations for each local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Gloucestershire4.5758.90413.93118.71719.533Essex11.30623.64837.36149.43450.417Hampshire9.51819.67930.96040.67140.350East Sussex4.6769.01114.09218.75918.685These figures in real terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Gloucestershire4.8259.22214.13018.71719.340Essex11.92424.49237.89649.43449.918Hampshire10.03820.38131.40340.67139.950East Sussex4.9329.33314.29418.75918.500Price Base: Real terms at 2014-15 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30.09.2015.The table below shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.Capital allocations  £mGloucestershireEssexHampshireEast Sussex2005-0634.672.467.323.52006-0741.856.864.919.82007-0854.667.175.635.32008-0968.791.770.242.72009-1058.5147.490.246.72010-1168.1104.863.232.32011-1233.979.169.532.12012-1343.594.367.738.22013-1432.783.762.535.42014-1535.785.470.234.72015-16 (prov.)13.350.837.219.4Notes:Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.Funding in 2015-16 is still subject to project progress and is therefore subject to change. The funding figures provided for 2015/16 only include formulaic programmes and payments to date. Further funding is yet to be released for capital programmes dependent upon project progress and this has not been reflected in the figures.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to per pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Devon (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Average per pupil revenue funding figures for Devon are given below. With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown below. These are in cash terms:Average revenue per pupilfunding (cash)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Devon LA (£)3,5603,8004,0504,2204,4304,6804,6004,600These are in real terms using September 2015 GDP deflators in 2014-15 prices:Average revenue per pupil funding (real)2005-06 (baseline)2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13Devon LA (£)4,3704,5304,7004,7704,8805,0104,8504,770Per pupil figures use DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014 with funding allocated through three blocks (namely schools, early years and high needs) means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The table below shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for Devon LA.DSG schoolsblock per pupil funding (£)2013-20142014-20152015-2016Devon LA (cash) 4,1564,1564,342Devon LA (real) [1]4,2154,1564,299[1] Real terms figures shown in 2014-15 prices using GDP deflators at 30.09.15.Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium per pupil (£)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-2016Free School Meal Pupil Primary£488£623£953£1323£1320Free School Meal Pupil Secondary£488£623£900£935£935Service Children£200£250£300£300£300LookedAfter Children£488£623£900£1900[2]£1900[2][2] Also includes children adopted from care.Total Pupil Premium allocations for Devon local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Devon5.48611.16117.22122.94223.220These figures in real terms:Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-20152015-16 (prov.)Devon5.78611.55917.46722.94222.990Price Base: Real terms at 2014-15 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30.09.2015.The table below shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.Devon £mCapital allocations2005-0630.52006-0753.02007-0868.12008-0956.82009-1071.62010-1131.82011-1231.12012-1337.52013-1448.42014-1542.32015-16 (prov.)10.2Notes:Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.Funding in 2015-16 is still subject to project progress and is therefore subject to change. The funding figures provided for 2015/16 only include formulaic programmes and payments to date. Further funding is yet to be released for capital programmes dependent upon project progress and this has not been reflected in the figures.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Closures

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has available for potential replacement premises and technologies in the light of the proposed closures of court and tribunal estates set out in his Department's recent consultation.

Mr Shailesh Vara: No decisions have been made regarding the proposed closures.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he intends to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Delyn of 24 May 2015 on the Shrewsbury 24.

Mike Penning: Due to an internal administrative error, the response to your letter was not sent. A response has now been sent and I apologise for the unacceptable delay.

Magistrates' Courts: Buildings

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the magistrates' courts which closed in the last five years were sold within 12 months of closure; how many such courts remain unsold; and what the average period is between closure and receipt of funds on sale.

Mr Shailesh Vara: It has not been possible to answer this question in the time allowed. I will write to the honourable member in due course.

Taxis: Guide Dogs

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will introduce new sentencing guidelines to help prevent taxi drivers refusing to take guide dogs and other assistance dogs.

Andrew Selous: I refer the Hon gentleman to the answer to PQ number 8187 of 14 September

Magistrates' Courts: Grantham

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the estimated market value is of the freehold buildings used by Grantham Magistrates' Court.

Mr Shailesh Vara: No decision will be taken on the future of Grantham Magistrates' Court until the responses to the consultation have been considered.

Religiously Aggravated Offences

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many religious leaders have been convicted for contravening the (a) Public Order Act 1986, (b) Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, (c) Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 and (d) Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 for crimes against (i) Muslims, (ii) Jews, (iii) Israelis and (iv) Christians.

Mike Penning: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Youth Custody: Education

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children in (a) secure children's homes, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions had an Education, Health and Care plan or a Statement of Special Educational Need before entering custody on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children in (a) secure children's homes, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions had an Education, Health and Care plan on the latest date for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: This information is not held centrally.

Young Offenders: Prisoners' Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children were on the basic level of the IEP scheme in (a) HM Young Offender Institution Feltham, (b) HM Young Offender Institution Wetherby, (c) HM Young Offender Institution Werrington, (d) HM Young Offender Institution Cookham Wood and (e) Parc Young People's Unit on the latest date for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: Information on IEP levels for all prisoners by prison function is published annually in the management information addendum of the NOMS Annual Report. The table below shows the number of young people on basic level of the IEP scheme as at the end of March 2015 in all the under 18 Young Offender Institutions.Cookham WoodFelthamWerringtonWetherbyParc2350192858Please note that Feltham and Parc are split sites so data provided is inclusive of young adults

Offences against Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15 under Section 49 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the victims were (A) under 16 years old and (B) between 16 and 19 years old.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15 under Section 48 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the victims were (A) under 16 years old and (B) between 16 and 19 years old.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions under Section 47 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 were made in (i) 2012 to 2013, (ii) 2013 to 2014 and (iii) to 2015 where the victim was (A) under 16 years old and (b) between 16 and 17 years old.

Dominic Raab: The statutes concerned apply to victims aged under 18 years. A breakdown by age could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Data on justice outcomes for offences under sections 47, 48 and 49 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are published at the following link under ‘71.1 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography - indictable only’ and ‘71.2 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography - triable either way’:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/428937/outcomes-by-offence-tables.xlsx

Prime Minister

Trident

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Prime Minister, under which criteria the Government would consider it justified to launch (a) a pre-emptive nuclear attack on another independent state or states using the Trident nuclear weapons system based in Scotland and (b) a retaliatory nuclear attack on another independent state or states using the Trident nuclear weapons systems based in Scotland.

Mr David Cameron: The UK has long been clear that we would only consider using our nuclear weapons in the most extreme circumstances of self-defence.

Cabinet Committees: Airports

Richard Burden: To ask the Prime Minister, what the (a) date of establishment, (b) membership, (c) meeting schedule and (d) agenda is of the special cabinet committee on airport expansion.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin) on 21 July 2015 announcing the publication of an updated Cabinet Committees list including a new Economic Affairs (Airports) sub-Committee, Official Report, columns 84WS-85WS.Copies of the list are available in the Libraries of the House.As with all Cabinet Committees, information relating to the proceedings, including when and how often it meets and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Football Association Premier League: Living Wage

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to encourage Premier League football clubs to pay all staff, including those employed via external contractors, at least the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Tracey Crouch: I welcome the fact that Chelsea Football Club have signed up to be an accredited living wage employee, not just paying their direct staff but contractors too. That is a big step forward, and one that I expect all Premier clubs to follow. I will press home that message to the Premier League's Executive Chairman as part of the regular dialogue we have on a range of football matters.

Wembley Stadium

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will encourage the Football Association to ensure an equitable agreement is reached for both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea to play their games at Wembley Stadium while their stadia are being redeveloped.

Tracey Crouch: The use of Wembley Stadium​ is a contractual matter between private companies but I understand The FA are in active discussions with both clubs. ​I would ​encourage both ​​Tottenham and Chelsea to maintain an active dialogue with The FA on how best to achieve thisgoal, with a view to supporting the redevelopment of both clubs' grounds.

Archery

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received on the removal of archery from the sports included in the Commonwealth Games for 2018; and what discussions his Department has had with the Commonwealth Games Federation about the decision not to include archery in those Games.

Tracey Crouch: DCMS has received no representations on archery's exclusion from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The inclusion of which certain sports that may participate in the Commonwealth Games is a decision entirely for the Commonwealth Fund and the host city.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the final five per cent of superfast broadband coverage will be funded.

Mr Edward Vaizey: We recognise that a range of solutions will be required to reach those in the hardest to reach areas. That is why the Government has invested up to £8 million to support seven pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95% of UK premises, with technologies such as satellite and wireless and using alternative financing models. Decisions on any future intervention will be taken as part of the Spending Review.

Television: Royalties

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has for the future regulation of television content royalty payments.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government’s consultation on the balance of payments between pay TV platforms and Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) closed on 30 June 2015. The consultation examined the flow of payments between PSBs and pay TV platforms, and whether regulations relating to these transactions are necessary to ensure broadcasters can deliver the highest quality content, at the best price, to the widest possible audience. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has received responses, and is now analysing with a view to publishing a Government response in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions

Housing Benefit

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.110 of the Summer Budget 2015, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of limiting backdating in housing benefit to four weeks on homelessness provision reliant on funding from that benefit.

Justin Tomlinson: No assessment has been made. Housing Benefit is not designed to provide support for homelessness funding – that is a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government and the devolved Governments in Scotland and Wales.

Personal Independence Payment

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9725, whether Capita is permitted to provide recording equipment for use during personal independence payment assessments at its own expense, if such equipment is requested by the person being assessed.

Justin Tomlinson: There are no contractual obligations for the PIP assessment providers (Atos and Capita) to provide audio recording equipment at its own expense if such equipment is requested by the person being assessed.If claimants wish for their assessments to be recorded they may do so using their own equipment, provided they comply with the conditions put in place which were outlined in the response provided to your previous question on this subject on 9 September 2015.

Department for Work and Pensions: Pressure Groups

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of (i) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (ii) the Confederation of British Industry, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) the Adam Smith Institute, (v) the Freedom Association, (vi) the Politics and Economics Research Trust and (vii) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published up to 31 March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publicationsFurther publications of Ministerial meetings will be published in due course.

Local Housing Allowance: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.115 of the Summer Budget 2015, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of freezing local housing allowance on the availability of private rented accommodation for claimants in London.

Justin Tomlinson: No assessment has been made of the effect of freezing rates on the availability or affordability of accommodation for claimants in London. There will be measures in place to help support people who may be impacted. Each year, 30 per cent of the savings from this measure will be used to create Targeted Affordability Funding to help areas where rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation. In addition the Government has enhanced its package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding - £800 million over 5 years- which is designed to enable local authorities to protect the most vulnerable claimants and support households adjusting to Welfare Reform changes, including the freeze to LHA rates.

Department for Work and Pensions: Scotland

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9035, which properties are shared by his Department in flexible delivery locations; and which of these properties are shared with (a) local authorities, (b) the Scottish Prison Service, (c) third sector and other voluntary organisations and (d) other private or public sector organisations.

Justin Tomlinson: Our current Flexible delivery locations are attached. The majority of these do not constitute full time locations but are used on a part time basis as agreed locally. Due to that local agreement the number does fluctuate. In addition to the sites listed in the attached, we have one site currently working in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council with the intention of progressing to full co-location of all JCP services in Banff Local Authority premises in the near future.



Flexible delivery locations
(PDF Document, 23.05 KB)

Personal Independence Payment

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2015 to Question 9645, for what reasons median end to end times for processing personal independence payments did not change between April 2015 and July 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: The current processing times represent a stable position for both DWP and our Assessment Providers and reflect the significant progress made to improve the claims process by both parties over the preceding months. We continue to look at all of our processes and activities to identify any further areas for improvement, or to drive out even greater efficiency.

Taxation: Married People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2015 to Question 7643, what estimate he has made of the number of single earner married couples where the earner is a basic rate taxpayer in each parliamentary constituency.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available.

Universal Credit

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department differentiates between private sector landlords and housing associations in the manner in which it makes direct payments to landlords on behalf of tenants who receive universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: No. DWP does not differentiate between social and private landlords in the manner in which it makes direct payments of rent to landlords on behalf of tenants who receive universal credit.

Social Security Benefits: Mental Health

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes and procedures are in place when benefit claimants report having suicidal thoughts.

Priti Patel: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes seriously any declarations of intention to attempt suicide or self harm that are made by its customers. There is a clear, detailed action plan that staff must follow if a customer declares an intention to kill or harm themselves. DWP also provides guidance to help its staff deal with these incidents. The policy, procedures and guidance are reviewed regularly to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives and to identify areas for improvement.

Carers: Universal Credit

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the introduction of universal credit will have on the incomes of those spending more than 21 hours per week in education and who are the principal carers for elderly relatives with a disability.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the introduction of universal credit will have on funding for care available to older people with a disability whose principal carer is engaged in education for no more than 20 hours per week.

Justin Tomlinson: A person in full time education will normally not meet the basic conditions for Universal Credit. There are however exceptions to this condition for some people; including people with limited capability for work, those in receipt of Personal Independence Payment, and people with care of dependent children.There is no entitlement to Carer’s Allowance for people in education 21 hours or more a week because in order to be eligible they would need to be providing care for a severely disabled person for 35 hours a week.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10360, how many sanctions have been applied due to claimants not ticking the appropriate box on NHS charges claims forms when claiming help with NHS health costs in cases where the claim forms do not include such a box.

Priti Patel: There has been no change to the position since I replied to PQ 10360; We are in active conversations with the Department of Health about the content of their forms.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Floods: Insurance

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to recommend that insurance companies make public their geographical data suppliers in respect of areas deemed to be at risk of flooding.

Rory Stewart: Insurance companies determine the flood risk element of the premiums they charge. Insurers use a variety of models to identify flood risk which may differ by area and organisation and will depend on their approach to risk and their underwriting strategies. Insurance companies do not have to disclose the criteria they use. The criteria and data suppliers that insurers use is commercially sensitive information which, if made public, could serve to distort the effective operation of the market.

Timber: Sustainable Development

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to enable the establishment of a market in 100 per cent sustainable timber by 2020.

Rory Stewart: Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.

Floods: Insurance

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department made prior to laying the Flood Reinsurance (Scheme Funding and Administration) Regulations 2015 of whether the scope of the definition of home insurance in the regulations covered only those home insurers who explicitly protected against flood risk.

Rory Stewart: We consulted widely and worked very closely with the Association of British Insurers to ensure that the Flood Reinsurance (Scheme Funding and Administration) Regulations 2015 reflect the intended policy position. As set out in the Regulations, Flood Re will assess whether an insurer is liable for levy payments (and the amount of levy they are due to pay) based on the amount of domestic property insurance an insurer covers in the UK market.

Timber: Sustainable Development

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will implement proposals put forward by the World Wildlife Fund in its 2015 Forest Campaign to ensure that the UK timber market deals in 100 per cent sustainable timber by 2020.

Rory Stewart: Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.It is positive that UK companies and other bodies are making similar commitments to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign.

Floods: Insurance

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on introducing the Flood Re scheme.

Rory Stewart: Flood Re began its operational testing phase in July 2015. It will be a matter for the Flood Re Board itself, rather than the Secretary of State, to determine when the scheme is ready to accept policies once it is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. We understand that Flood Re expects this to be in April 2016.Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by the Statement of Principles which ensures continued access to flood insurance until Flood Re is fully operational

Public Footpaths: Coastal Areas

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government is making towards ensuring that 3,000 miles of the England Coast Path will be open by 2020.

Rory Stewart: The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 176 miles. By the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 349 miles and also to be working on proposals for an additional 986 miles.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many CAP payment applications were submitted within the deadline in the latest period for which figures are available.

George Eustice: CAP payments are the responsibility of each Devolved Administration. In England there were 87,102 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) Applications submitted by the 15 June 2015 deadline. In addition there were 1,103 Applications submitted between the 15 June and 10 July (penalty period), and 158 submitted after the 10 July deadline.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what disallowance penalties her Department has incurred in relation to CAP payments in each year since 2010.

George Eustice: The table below details the disallowance incurred by Defra on a financial year basis and reflects the dates at which disallowance was accrued by the Department following the conclusion of EU audits. The disallowed figures relate to a number of different Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Schemes over a number of historical scheme years. Audits and Scheme years do not necessarily coincide.Disallowance (*) £m10/1111/1212/1313/1414/151814223081(*) Reflects the sums the European Commission (EC) have ruled cannot be reimbursed (i.e. the amounts they have “disallowed”) and which are therefore a cost to the Exchequer.The Government challenges proposed disallowance through mediation in the EU and since 2010 reduced the amount of disallowance levied by €285m.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to make CAP payments before the end of December 2015.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency will be making full payments to eligible farmers as early as possible in the payment window, which runs from 1st December 2015 to 28th June 2016. We expect to make the majority of payments in December and the vast majority by the end of January.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on (a) processing farmers' 2015 Basic Payment Scheme applications and (b) tackling the challenges of getting information supplied by farmers in paper form back onto an online validation process; and what resources have been committed to carry out this work to date.

George Eustice: Good progress is being made on processing Basic Payment Scheme 2015 applications including capturing changes that were made on the paper forms along with any new requirements of the scheme onto the Rural Payments IT system. We currently have access to around 800 people to perform this processing work.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what effect the switch to a paper-based application system for the Basic Payment Scheme has had on (a) claim validation and the verification of claims and (b) the delivery of timely payments from 1 December.

George Eustice: The move to the paper based application approach for the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 has not had an impact on the validation and verification of claims and the Rural Payments Agency remain on track to make the majority of payments in December.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce interim payments in cases in which there are delays in making payments under the Basic Payments Scheme.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency remains on track to meet their public payment commitments. Full payments on the majority of Basic Payment Scheme 2015 claims will be made from December, within the payment window that runs between December and June. As such interim payments are not being considered.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the level of complexity of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme; if she will take steps to simplify that scheme; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Countryside Stewardship has introduced significant rationalisation with regard to its predecessors; integrating three legacy schemes into one. At the same time the number of environmental management options available has been reduced by 70% and the number of capital items by 20%.Most of the elements in Countryside Stewardship (higher tier; woodland and water capital grants) remain largely analogous to their predecessor schemes. However, the application process has been inevitably more complex than intended given the need for a paper based application system this year.The stricter EU control rules have resulted in greater reliance on record keeping and other documentary evidence to demonstrate compliance but we have already published guidance on the controls applicable to the scheme in order to clarify the requirements.We will evaluate this first year of the scheme and simplify it wherever possible.

Fisheries

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ensure that (a) Seafish and (b) other bodies funded by fishing levies do not promote the fishing industries of other North Sea or Norwegian Sea countries.

George Eustice: Seafish does not spend its levy, directly or through other bodies, on promoting the fishing industries of other North Sea or Norwegian Sea countries. At the request of the four Fisheries Ministers, Seafish introduced a transparent process in 2012 to agree priorities for spending. Seafish consults UK Industry Panels to ensure that all parts of the UK seafood sector benefit proportionately from the levy raised. These activities are set out in the Seafish Corporate Plan, which can be found on the Seafish website.

Fisheries

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the amount spent each year by (a) Seafish and (b) other bodies funded by fishing levies on promoting the fishing industries of other countries.

George Eustice: Seafish does not use levies raised on fish caught by the UK catching sector to promote the fishing industries of other countries. Levy is raised at the first point of sale in the UK, including on imported fish, and is used to support the UK seafood industry.

Bees: Neonicotinoids

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the results of the EU's recent tests on the likely harmful effects to bees of the use of neonicotinoids; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The EU itself does not carry out tests on the effects on bees from the use of neonicotinoid insecticides.It makes decisions on the regulation of neonicotinoids and other pesticides on the basis of scientific information provided by companies working to agreed standards and published scientific studies.The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published scientific opinions on the risks from uses of these pesticides following mandates from the European Commission. EFSA also recently held a consultation calling for data on this matter as the first step in an EU review of controls on these insecticides.The UK is contributing fully to this review.EFSA documents are published on its website (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/).

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the level of take-up of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme is; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The application window for the Mid-Tier closed on 30 September. 2,314 agreement applications were received. 1,025 expressions of interest for the Higher Tier have also been received, together with 257 applications for forestry agreements. The level of interest is in line with our expectation.Natural England and the Forestry Commission are now working to assess these to offer agreements to those applicants who have submitted high quality plans that will do most to improve our water quality and the farmed environmentSome elements of the scheme have been available earlier in 2015. 1,798 applications were received for 2015 water capital grants, of which 1,458 have been awarded. We also received 743 applications for woodland creation during a fixed application period and for tree health and woodland management plans, which continue to be applied for year round. To date, 288 agreements have been awarded.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Poverty: Urban Areas

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of policies to tackle poverty in urban areas.

James Wharton: As a result of the Government's strong management, the British economy is growing faster than any other major advanced economy. Our businesses have created two million more jobs and living standards are rising. We are committed to supporting more people into work by making work pay - the Child Poverty Transitions report (June 2015) found almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of poor workless families who found work escaped poverty.The National Living Wage will give over 2.7 million people currently on the minimum wage a pay rise of over £5,000 a year. Along with the increase in the personal allowance to £12,500 by the end of the Parliament, the National Living Wage will make work pay and improve people’s living standardsThrough Devolution Deals and other programmes we are giving local areas increased flexibilities and powers to maximise their local economic growth to raise the opportunities for companies to grown and individuals to prosper.

Elections: Cost Effectiveness

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the benefits to the taxpayer, and to the electorate, of combining the dates of the proposed new mayoral elections and the local elections.

James Wharton: Both combining the dates for the new mayoral elections and local elections, and holding free-standing mayoral elections, can benefit the taxpayers and the electorate. Combining mayoral and local elections gives savings in electoral administration, up to 30% of the cost of each poll, is more convenient for voters and encourages turnout. Holding free-standing mayoral elections enhances mayoral accountability, encouraging value for money in a Mayor's decisions, and may also allow mayoral governance to be introduced earlier than otherwise.

Social Rented Housing: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households occupy social housing in each London borough; and how many such households in each such borough have an annual income above £40,000.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 16 October 2015



Data on the number of dwellings by tenure and district can be found in Live Table 100 which is available to download at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacantsThe Department collects its data on household income from the English Housing Survey which does not go down to the district level.

Shared Ownership

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce barriers preventing tenants in shared ownership properties from staircasing up to increase the share of the property they own; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: This Government is determined to extend home ownership to anyone who aspires to own their own home.Shared ownership has proven to be extremely popular and has played an important role in helping families who are otherwise priced out of the market. This is why between April 2010 and March 2015 we have delivered 41,000 new shared ownership homes through the Affordable Homes Programme.The Government is committed to ensuring that shared ownership continues to be effective at helping hard working families meet their aspiration to own their own home. This is why earlier this year we consulted on a range of possible proposals to streamline the process for selling on shared ownership properties.As a result we have simplified the process for resale of shared ownership properties by removing the pre-emption right, or right of first refusal for housing providers, from those former shared ownership homes where the owner has 'staircased' to 100% ownership.But there is more that can be done and the Government is currently looking at how we can make shared ownership even more accessible as a route to full home ownership.

Private Rented Housing: Urban Areas

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to assist local authorities to safeguard the residential amenity of urban residential locales with high numbers of private sector lettings; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: A local housing authority can, through licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation and other privately rented properties (selective licensing), impose conditions relating to the management of the premises so its use does not adversely impact upon its vicinity. Since 27 March 2015 an authority can make a selective licensing scheme in an area where (a) it has recently, or is experiencing, a high level of migration into the private rented sector and (b) the scheme will help preserve or improve the social or economic well-being of that area.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what capabilities he requires of Protector aircraft.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans for Protector programme unmanned aerial vehicles, and each individual aircraft commissioned under that programme, to enter into service.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Protector aircraft his Department plans to order.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he plans for the Protector programme to cost his Department in each of the next five years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the decision to order the Protector programme of aircraft was taken by his Department.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK manufacturing jobs likely to be (a) created and (b) safeguarded by the commencement of the Protector programme.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the value of the domestic supply chain for the Protector programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement released by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 12 October 2015,titledFuture Unmanned Air Systems Capability.The Government has taken an early decision in the Strategic Defence and Security Review to commit to the Protector programme. The programme is currently in its assessment phase, so detailed work is continuing to confirm a contract for the airframe and associated details, including date for the capability's entry into service and acquisition and life support cost profile, following which the Ministry of Defence will be better placed to understand the implications for the UK workforce and supply chain.



Future Unmanned Air Systems Capability
(Word Document, 14.73 KB)

HM Treasury

Treasury: Grants

Philip Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 July 2015 to Question 7826, what his definition is of a contentious grant; and whether any grants have come into this category since October 2014.

Greg Hands: The principles and guidance for government departments set out in Managing Public Money explain that departments need Treasury consent before undertaking expenditure. Specific Treasury approval is required for any spending outside delegated authorities or which set precedents, are novel, contentious or could cause repercussions elsewhere in the public sector. Managing Public Money does not seek to define these terms beyond their normal meaning, but does include the Treasury’s expectation (in respect of certain payments) that the responsible accounting officers would feel able to justify proposed payments in parliament if challenged.The scheme described in response to Question 7826 was established in line with these principles.The Treasury was not asked to give specific approval to any of the grants made since 2014 under section 64 of the Health and Public Health Act 1968 mentioned in the Hon. Member’s previous question.

Fuels: Tax Evasion

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions prosecutions have resulted from visits by HM Revenue and Customs' officials to sites in Northern Ireland where illegal fuel laundering had occurred in the last three years.

Damian Hinds: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not break down statistics for oils prosecutions to separate out those resulting from visits by officers to laundering sites.

Companies: Ownership

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the British Virgin Islands government's progress towards implementing a central register of beneficial ownership; and what steps he is taking to ensure that that government publishes a timetable for that implementation by November 2015.

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the Cayman Islands government's progress towards implementing a central register of beneficial ownership; and what steps he is taking to ensure that that government publishes a timetable for that implementation by November 2015.

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2015 to Question 5430, on ownership of companies, what his definition is of a similarly effective system.

Mr David Gauke: The international standards on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, including transparency of legal persons, are set by the Financial Action Task Force. The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands are members of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and are subject to mutual evaluations of their AML/CTF regime through this body.At the December 2014 Joint Ministerial Council, the UK and the Overseas Territories committed to continue to work together in raising international standards to tackle money laundering, tax evasion, illicit finance and corruption, leading by example given the importance of our financial centres to the international financial system. In March, the Minister for the Overseas Territories and I wrote to the Premiers of the BVI and Cayman Islands asking them to set out plans and a timetable for the implementation of central registers of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective systems, by the November Joint Ministerial Council.Any system should meet the following three criteria: UK and domestic law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; these competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in, without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is under way.The UK Government continues to engage actively with the BVI and Cayman Islands to emphasize the importance of this agenda and to offer any technical support that might be required.

Interest Rate Swap Transactions

Anna Turley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the interest rate hedging products redress scheme operated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Harriett Baldwin: The information requested is available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website:http://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/financial-services-products/banking/interest-rate-hedging-products.

Tourism: VAT

Dr James Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual VAT take is from tourism businesses in Wales.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT receipts from particular goods and services, and has not estimated the VAT take from tourism businesses in Wales.

Regional Airports: Air Passenger Duty

Ben Howlett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of devolution of air passenger duty on regional airports.

Damian Hinds: In light of the decision to devolve APD to Scotland and consider the case for devolving APD to Wales, the government has recently published a discussion paper exploring options to support English regional airports from the impacts of APD devolution. We are considering the evidence that we have received from stakeholders, and will respond to the consultation in due course.

Welfare Tax Credits

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2015, when he expects to publish 2014-15 data on families' tax credit awards within local authorities.

Damian Hinds: HMRC will be publishing the 2014-15 Tax Credits Finalised Awards National Statistics on 27th May 2016. The geographical version will include a breakdown of Tax Credits recipients by local authority, as well as Government Office Region and Parliamentary Constituency.Information for 2013-14, the most recently published annual figures on Tax Credits, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014Information on the average number of families receiving Tax Credits and the value of their finalised entitlement, broken down by Local Authority, can be found in table 2.

Financial Services: Regulation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to better regulate financial service providers working in the UK (a) in general and (b) specifically those selling off-shore services and investment opportunities; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for the regulation of financial services in the UK.This is therefore a matter for the FCA, who are operationally independent from Government.The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Help to Buy Scheme

Graham Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Help to Buy mortgages have been refused by the Government despite being accepted by the participating bank.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has established a criteria of eligibility for Help to Buy mortgages for participating banks to uphold. The responsibility of approving or rejecting a Help to Buy mortgage is given to participating banks.There are currently two existing Help to Buy schemes; the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme and the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The eligibility criteria for each of these schemes can be found on the Help to Buy website: http://www.helptobuy.org.uk

Help to Buy Scheme

Graham Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Help to Buy mortgages have been declined on the basis of a poor credit rating.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government does not collect information on the number of Help to Buy mortgage applications declined on the basis of a poor credit rating.

Welfare Tax Credits: Young People

Conor McGinn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people under 25 years old in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK receive tax credits.

Damian Hinds: The latest information on the number of tax credit recipients under 25 in the UK can be found in table 3.1 of the April 2015 Personal Tax Credits published statistics, found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009These statistics are published in April and December each year.

Treasury: Republic of Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Finance in the Republic of Ireland; and what subjects were raised at those discussions.

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Ministers for Finance and Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Ireland; and what subjects were raised at those discussions.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As has been the practice adopted by previous administrations it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.

EU Budget

Emma Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the UK has been allocated from the (a) European Regional Development Fund, (b) European Social Funds, (c) European Agricultural Fund of Guarantee, (d) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, (e) European Territorial Cooperation, (f) Youth Employment Initiative and (g) European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the period from 2014 to 2020; and what information his Department holds on how much funding has been allocated from each fund in each region.

Mr David Gauke: Information regarding the UK’s allocation from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), including how these will be divided across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the period 2014-2020, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-european-funds/2010-to-2015-government-policy-european-funds.Information regarding the UK’s allocation from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), including how this will be divided across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the period 2014-2020, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-cap-allocations-announced.Information regarding the UK’s allocation from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, including how this will be divided across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the period 2014-2020, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/european-fisheries-fund-allocated-to-promote-growth-across-the-uk;Information regarding the UK’s share from European Territorial Cooperation, including the regions in which the funds will be spent, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/european-territorial-cooperation-programmesInformation regarding the UK’s share from the Youth Employment Initiative, including the regions in which the funds will be spent, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/170-million-to-help-young-people-find-jobs

Help to Buy Scheme: Worcestershire

Mr Robin Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire have taken up a Help to Buy ISA.

Harriett Baldwin: The Help to Buy: ISA is an expansion to the existing Help to Buy scheme. The Help to Buy: ISA scheme will be launched on 1 December 2015.The existing Help to Buy schemes are the Mortgage Guarantee scheme and Equity Loan scheme. Over 110,000 housing completions have taken place with the support of the Help to Buy scheme, as of June 2015.The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme has been running since October 2013. Figures are available only for completions to June 2015. There have been 110 completions in Worcester as of June 2015. Data for Worcestershire is not reported. The latest data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-june-2015.The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme has been running since April 2013. In Worcester, there have been 183 completions with the support of the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme, as of June 2015. Data for Worcestershire is not reported. Official statistics on completions for the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme, monthly, broken down by local authority for England, are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what data her Department holds on the carbon footprint and emissions of local authorities.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has requested local authorities in England to annually measure, and report on their websites, greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations. A collation of the data extracted from local authority websites for the years 2008/09 to 2012/13 can be found on gov.uk:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sharing-information-on-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-local-authority-own-estate-and-operations-previously-ni-185#summary-of-local-authorities-ghg-emissions-data-for-20112012-and-20122013.From 2013/14 DECC ceased to collate and publish the data on gov.uk.

Carbon Emissions

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the UK's progress towards meeting its 2020 carbon emission targets.

Andrea Leadsom: Each year we publish Energy and Emissions Projections which allow us to monitor progress towards meeting the UK’s carbon targets.The last projections (published in September 2014) showed that we are on track to achieve the second and third carbon budgets, covering the period to 2022. Our projected performance over the third carbon budget equates to a 37% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels.

Renewables Obligation: Exemptions

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2015 to Question 8254, how many levy exemption certificates there were in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last four years; and what the type of renewable and low carbon technology was for each such certificate in each of those years.

Andrea Leadsom: Ofgem publish annual summary information on the number of levy exemption certificates issued by country of generation and by renewable technology type. Information for the period April 2009 to March 2015 is set out in two reports available on the Ofgem website at:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/summary-renewable-levy-exemption-certificates-lecs-april-2009-march-2014;https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/summary-renewable-levy-exemption-certificates-lecs-april-2014-march-2015.

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Pressure Groups

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings her Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economic Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

Andrea Leadsom: Details of meetings between Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the Departmental website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/ministers-meeting-with-external-organisations.

Energy: Subsidies

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the consistency of its policies on subsidies for renewable energy and for fossil fuels with current and proposed international climate change targets.

Andrea Leadsom: This Government remains committed to meeting the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%, on 1990 levels, by 2050. This remains in line with our contribution to the international effort to limit global warming to below 2 degrees.We, also, continue to make progress towards our EU 2020 Renewable Target with provisional figures showing that 7.0% of final energy consumption was met from renewable sources in 2014. We are also on track to meet our EU 2020 energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.We continue to support the deployment of renewable energy in our future energy mix:Electricity: The introduction of Contracts for Difference will give companies long term revenue certainty whilst driving down the cost for consumers through competition.Heat: Under existing renewable heat schemes, the Government has supported around 40,000 homes and 12,000 businesses, schools, farms and other organisations with new renewable heating systems.Transport: The Government is investing £500million over the next 5 years in making ultra-low emission vehicles more accessible to families and businesses across the country.It is vital to ensure security of supply and that the lights stay on, therefore fossil fuels will continue to play an important part in our future energy mix. The 2012 Carbon Plan noted that we will still need significant oil and gas supplies while we decarbonise our economy and transition to a low carbon economy, with projections showing that in 2030 oil and gas will remain a vital part of the energy mix, providing around 70% of the UK’s primary energy requirements.The Government is seeking an ambitious, legally binding,global climate change deal in Paris in December that keeps the goal of limiting average global emissions to limit global warming to below 2 degrees within reach.

Power Stations: Heating

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will bring forward proposals to allow the creation and sale of licences and franchises to provide heating using power station waste heat.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has a range of policies in place to promote the use of Combined Heat and Power (CHP), which is a key technique capable of generating heat from power station waste heat. Environmental permitting requires developers of power plants to consider opportunities for operating CHPs, and provides them with CHP permits if these are cost effective. CHP installations that are certified by our Quality Assurance Programme are eligible for Enhanced Capital Allowances, Business Rates exemptions, a partial exemption from the Carbon Price Support tax, and Renewable Obligation Certificates and Renewable Heat Incentive payments for any heat they generate from biomass. Developing heat networks offers further opportunities for power plants to recover and supply heat.

Renewable Energy

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total amount of renewable energy generation was in the second quarter of 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The total amount of renewable electricity generation for the second quarter of 2015 was 19,945 GWh. Full details, including breakdowns by technology, can be found in the Quarterly Energy Trends release, available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables.The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not publish other renewable generation figures (heat and transport) on a quarterly basis, but annual figures are available in Table 6.6 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.

Renewable Energy: Carbon Emissions

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of recently announced changes in incentives for renewable energy generation on the UK's carbon emissions.

Andrea Leadsom: The potential carbon emissions impacts of individual policy changes on renewable incentives have been set out in the accompanying Impact Assessments.Even with the proposed changes, we are still on track to deliver at least 30% of the UK’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020 so our overall carbon savings will remain in line with our original projections.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on carbon emissions of the reduction on feed-in tariffs; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: In order to meet the 2050 target, we know we will need significant cuts in emissions across all parts of the economy.This will not depend on any single technology, but rather will need a balanced mix of low carbon technologies, including nuclear, renewables, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) in order to help tackle the threat of climate change while keeping the lights on and ensuring the best value for consumers.The feed-in tariff scheme has been extremely successful in deploying small-scale renewables. The scheme has already exceeded our 2020/21 projections for hydro, wind, and anaerobic digestion and is within the projected range for solar PV. Given this, alongside the risk of rising costs to consumers, it is right to consider cost control measures.

Nuclear Power: Employment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many people were employed in the nuclear industry and its supply chain in each financial year between 2010-11 and 2014-15.

Andrea Leadsom: Cogent Skills, the industry strategic body for skills in the science industries, estimates that full time equivalent employment in the nuclear industry and its supply chain in the years requested was as follows:2010-11 – 73200 employees;2011-12 – 72400 employees;2012-13 – 71600 employees;2013 -14 – 70800 employees;2014-15 – 70000 employees.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of proposed changes to the feed-in-tariff on solar firms and small businesses in (a) Somerton and Frome constituency, (b) the South West and (c) the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 15 October 2015



Our consultation on the feed-in tariff review is still underway until 23rd October. The consultation document reflects the need to balance sector support whilst keeping bills down for consumers.We strongly welcome evidence from the sector during the consultation to assist our analysis of the potential impact on businesses in the sector..

Nuclear Power: China

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the activities of the new UK-China joint research and innovation centre will be subject to oversight by (a) the Office for Nuclear Regulation and (b) her Department's national nuclear stakeholder forum.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether all projects undertaken in the new UK-China joint research and innovation centre will be subject to the (a) Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what new departmental resources have been committed to support the UK-China joint research and innovation centre; which UK personnel have been appointed to this work to date; what process was followed in making those appointments; and where each such post was advertised.

Andrea Leadsom: The Joint Research and Innovation Centre (JRIC) is envisaged to be the subject of a commercial agreement between the National Nuclear Laboratory and the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation.These two organisations are still in the process of negotiating such an agreement and will need to consider details on the structures, funding, governance and accountability of the JRIC. As such, it is too early for Government to be able to comment on the outcomes of such a negotiation.We continue to maintain an interest in developments of these discussions and will work, where appropriate, with our counterparts in the Chinese government to ensure that outcomes are mutually beneficial to the research landscape of both nations.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the announced reductions in feed-in tariff support will apply to existing contracts or new ones; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Any changes which we make to the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme as a result of the FIT review, which is currently open for consultation until 23rd October, will only apply to new applicants entering the scheme after the necessary legislation to effect the changes has passed through Parliament.

Mining: Pensions

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions her Department has had with the UK Miners Pension Scheme Association on the Miners Pension Scheme; and if she will review the provision that 50 per cent of any surplus made after 1994 will be paid to the Government.

Andrea Leadsom: Since the privatisation of the British Coal Corporation in 1994, the Government has provided a solvency guarantee to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS). That guarantee provides members with the reassurance that their basic pension entitlements will always rise in line with inflation and gives them the opportunity to share, with Government, in the benefits of any periodic surplus in the Scheme funds. In practice, this has meant that members enjoy bonus pensions worth almost 30% of their index-linked benefits. The guarantee further provides that the combination of these two pension elements will never fall in cash terms regardless of the performance of the funds.The Government continues to believe that the equitable division of surpluses between the membership and Government represents fair and reasonable recompense for taxpayers’ past investment in the Schemes during the industry’s period of public ownership and for the risks they continue to bear through the Government guarantee which will continue till the closure of the scheme which Is not expected to be until the 2070s.

Cabinet Office

Foreign Companies: Employment

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed in (a) the UK and (b) each region by companies (i) with headquarters in the EU and (ii) owned in the EU.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by non-British EU companies in (a) the UK and (b) each region.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Employment in EU
(PDF Document, 62.68 KB)

Data Protection: Departmental Responsibilities

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Department has responsibility for (a) data protection, (b) data sharing and (c) the Information Commissioner's Office.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Culture Media and Sport is responsible for data protection policy and sponsorship of the Information Commissioner’s Office. This includes overall responsibility for the legal framework for data sharing under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Cabinet Office is leading on improving how data is accessed and shared across government.

Prime Minister: Milk

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much (a) fair price milk and (b) non-fair price milk was purchased for use in 10 Downing Street in August 2015; and what plans he has to ensure that only fair price milk is used at 10 Downing Street in future.

Matthew Hancock: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.The Cabinet Office adheres to the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services which are mandatory for central Government and its executive agencies, ALBs, NDPBs etc. This is supported in the DEFRA Business Plan to drive sustainable food procurement by the Government and the public sector.The Government Buying Standards on Food and Catering can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418072/gbs-food-catering-march2015.pdfMilk provided for official purposes in the Cabinet Office is supplied by the department’s facilities management provider. Expenditure on milk specifically is not identified separately on the department’s financial systems and, as a result, information on such expenditure is not held centrally.

Department of Health

Action on Smoking and Health

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2015 to Question 2761, if he will place in the Library a copy of the grant application received by his Department from Action on Smoking and Health.

Jane Ellison: The Department has received a request for grant funding from Action on Smoking and Health for the 2015-16 financial year. This proposal is currently under assessment and a decision on funding has not yet been made.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake an urgent review into the increased use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on people considered incapacitated without their consent; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a ban on the forced use of ECT.

Alistair Burt: The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for patients who are detained for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 (the Act) and for all patients under 18 years is governed by section 58A of the Act. If a patient lacks the capacity to consent a second opinion appointed doctor (SOAD) must certify that the patient lacks the capacity to consent and that:- the treatment is appropriate;- no valid and applicable advance decision has been made by the patient under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) refusing the treatment in question;- no suitably authorised attorney or deputy objects to the treatment on the patients behalf; and- the treatment would not conflict with a decision of the Court of Protection which prevents the treatment being given.The numbers of these second opinions involving ECT have been declining for the past decade though there has been an increase since 2012/13. It is not clear whether this is a change in overall trend.The requirements of section 58A can only be overridden in emergency if the treatment is necessary to save the patient’s life and to prevent a serious deterioration of the patient’s condition, and the treatment does not have unfavourable physical or psychological consequences which cannot be reversed.

NHS: Training

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of all previous and current materials used for the healthWRAP training course.

Jane Ellison: Copies of healthWRAP training materials have been placed in the Library.

Veterans: Social Services

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made towards full disregard of military compensation payments for veterans in respect of their care costs; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Armed forces veterans receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from April 2005. It has always been the case that personal injury compensation payments have been disregarded in when assessing how much a person can contribute towards the cost of local authority arranged care and support. Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme have also been disregarded. The Department of Health has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are currently treated.The Government is in the process of considering the future funding of social care as part of the current spending review.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients Lancashire Care have admitted to named NHS facilities at (a) Clatterbridge, (b) West Part, Darlington, (c) Hull (d) Birch Hill, Rochdale, (e) Brierley and (f) other named facilities between 1 January and 30 September 2015.

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust have admitted to named private facilities at (a) Cygnet, Bierley, (b) Cygnet, Bradford, (c) Cygnet, Harrogate, (d) Cygnet, Harrow, (e) Cygnet, Wyke, (f) The Priory, Cheadle Royal, (g) The Priory, Darlington, (h) The Priory, Glasgow, (i) The Priory, Altringham, (j) The Spinney, Manchester and (k) other facilities between 1 January and 30 September 2015.

Ben Gummer: This information is not collected centrally.We have written to Derek Brown, Chair of the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Breast Cancer

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to establish a database of people suffering from secondary breast cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England is responsible for collecting cancer data to support national cancer registration in England, and recognises the importance of collecting data on recurrent breast cancer. At present pilot work in acute trusts has improved the reporting for breast cancer recurrence and metastasis totheNational CancerRegistration Service,but the data is not complete. Further work is being scoped by NHS England and Public Health England based on the recommendation in the recent Independent Cancer Taskforce report to establish robust surveillance systems to collect this data on all cancers.

Mental Health Services: Inspections

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) proportion and (b) number of mental health providers have been inspected by the Care Quality Commission under its new inspection regime.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health providers have been inspected by the Care Quality Commission in each of the last five years; and what the longest period of time is that a mental health provider has been without inspection since 2010.

Ben Gummer: Holding answer received on 16 October 2015



The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. The CQC is responsible for assessing whether providers are meeting the fundamental standards. The CQC provided the following information:Since the introduction of the CQC’s new inspection regime in September 2013 the CQC has conducted 34 ratings inspections across NHS mental health providers (these providers have 639 separate locations). This is around two thirds of all NHS providers with a primary inspection category of mental health registered with CQC. The CQC has also conducted 99 inspections across independent mental health locations, including substance misuse services.The CQC is unable to provide a detailed breakdown of data prior to September 2013 when the new style of inspection was introduced due to the disproportionate cost of compiling this data.There are a number of mental health locations that have not been inspected since 2010. When inspecting NHS mental health providers CQC does not necessarily inspect every single location.The focus of all CQC inspections is on the quality and safety of services, based on the things that matter to people. We always ask the following five key questions of services: Are they safe? Are they effective? Are they caring? Are they responsive to people’s needs? Are they well-led?The CQC expects to complete its inspections of mental health providers by the end of June 2016, with the exception of intendent standalone substance misuse services, which are on a longer timetable as we have just begun to roll out our new approach to these services.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from groups representing junior doctors on their current working conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: Junior doctors play a vital role in our National Health Service and deserve a professional and fair contract that supports patient care. We also want to work with NHS staff to better support a seven day NHS. This is why the Government wants to reduce the number of hours worked by juniors and has guaranteed that average earnings will be maintained.The best deal for junior doctors will be achieved by the British Medical Association (BMA) coming to the table to negotiate on their behalf. This is a view shared by the medical Royal Colleges, NHS Providers and others. To this end, the Government has provided the BMA and junior doctors with cast iron reassurances about its approach to a new contract and sincerely hopes that the BMA will return to the table.Ministers receive regular representations from groups representing junior doctors.My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Mark Porter, BMA Council Chair and Dr Johann Malawana as part of an introductory meeting following Dr Malawana’s election as Chair of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee (JDC). Ministers also meet regularly with representatives of medical Royal Colleges on a range of issues. At a recent meeting junior doctors working conditions were raised and the junior doctor training experience discussed.Recent written representations on junior doctors working conditions have been received by Ministers from:Dr Mark Porter, BMA Council chair and Dr Johann Malawana, BMA JDC chair.Professor Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Council.Dr Clifford Mann, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, on behalf of ten royal college presidents.Professor Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal college of Psychiatrists.A related e-petition with created by M J Peluso has been published at the following link: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/108782

Mental Health Services: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hours of mental health training is required as part of the mandatory training course for (a) student doctors, (b) student nurses and (c) midwives.

Ben Gummer: As the professional regulators it is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified doctors and nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care.This includes Mental Health training as required.Health Education England will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

Eating Disorders

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of waiting time standards for eating disorder services in April 2016.

Alistair Burt: On 3 August 2015, NHS England and the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health published a commissioning guide for clinical commissioning groups that will set out how to prepare for the access and waiting time standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder ready for implementation of the standard. The standard is that children and young people with eating disorders should be seen within four weeks or one week in urgent cases.From January 2016, compliance with this standard will be monitored via the Health and Social Care Information Centre website based on the data collected through the Mental Health Services Data Set. This will provide a baseline for planning and implementation from 2017-2018, when the standard will come into force. From 2016, the data will be used to measure progress with a view to 95% of young people meeting the standard by 2020.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of people referred for talking therapies received cognitive behaviour therapy in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 October 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Information on the proportion of people referred for talking therapies who received cognitive behavioural therapy during 2013/14 is given on the attached table Proportion of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) referrals that finished a course of treatment between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2014, for selected therapy types, England. Information for previous years is not available centrally. Information on 2014/15 will be published in November 2015.



IAPT Referrals for Selected Therapy Types 2013-14
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.63 KB)

Alistair Burt: Information on the proportion of people referred for talking therapies who received cognitive behavioural therapy during 2013/14 is given on the attached table Proportion of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) referrals that finished a course of treatment between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2014, for selected therapy types, England. Information for previous years is not available centrally. Information on 2014/15 will be published in November 2015.



IAPT Referrals for Selected Therapy Types 2013-14
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.63 KB)

Diabetes

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2015 to Question 10120, what additional funding his Department plans to make available to facilitate diabetes care in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Government is currently undertaking the Spending Review which will set budgets for the Department of Health - along with other parts of the public services- for the remainder of the parliament. The outcomes of the Spending Review will be announced on 25 November. Further details are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2015-a-country-that-lives-within-its-meansImproving outcomes for those at risk of and with diabetes is of great concern to this Government. Building on the National Diabetes Prevention Programme, the Department is developing its plans in this area. These will be published in due course.

Health Services: Shropshire

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the NHS Trust Development Authority collaborates with the NHS Future Fit process in Shropshire to make a decision regarding future emergency care for that county; and if he will take steps to ensure that population growth and the level of health inequality are taken into account in the process of making that decision.

Ben Gummer: The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, taking into account projected population growth and seeking to reduce health inequalities. Proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are (i) support from general practitioner commissioners (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.It is right that reconfiguration is led by the local NHS, working closely with the support of national bodies including NHS England, the NHS Trust Development Authority and Monitor.

Everolimus

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what timetable NHS England has set for developing a commissioning policy for the Everolimus drug.

George Freeman: NHS England is currently developingtwo policies for the provision of Everolimus – one for the Tuberous Sclerosis forComplex Related Renal Angiomyolipoma andone for SubependymalGiant Cell Astrocytoma (SEGA). This was communicated to the National Health Service in a Specialised Services Circular on 2 July 2015.These two policies will both be considered as in-year items for the specialised services work programme for 2015/16- however, a timetable for publication has not yet been agreed.

Medicine: Education

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical students completed their studies in London medical schools in each year from 2006 to 2009.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical students completed their studies in London medical schools in each year since 2010.

Ben Gummer: Data available from the Medical and Dental Students (MDS) Survey from 2009 to 2012 shows the output of those obtaining their first registrable medical qualification from London universities as:YearOutput from London universities20091,66820101,65020111,79020121,713Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England MDS SurveyFrom 2013, the MDS did not collect information on the output from medical schools.

Autism: St Helens North

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in St Helens North constituency meet NICE guidance.

Alistair Burt: The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.St Helens CCG is undertaking a review of current processes as part of the neuro-developmental pathway project, which includes autism spectrum conditions diagnosis provision and the associated waiting times for children. It is envisaged that the revised service model will be operational from September 2016, and will be in line with NICE Guidance. St Helens also co-commissions an Autism Diagnostic service in partnership with other neighbouring CCGs for adult services. Due to recent increases in demand the CCG is also working with the local NHS provider to help find solutions in regard to how waiting times can be effectively managed in order to meet NICE Guidance.

Morquio Syndrome: Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NICE to publish its final guidance on the Vimizim treatment.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence currently expects to publish its final guidance on elosulfase alfa (Vimizim) for mucopolysaccharidosis (type IVA) or Morquio Syndrome in December 2015.